Kraeher 1

Erin Kraeher
Ben Henderson
CAS 138T
14 April 2016
Fear of a Sunny Country
A sunny place for shady people. This is a fitting description of El Salvador
considering the country has become the most deadly country in the world, outside of a
war zone (El Salvador becomes most deadly). This problem goes far deeper than in the
small, Central American country alone. It is a global issue. The combination of gang
violence and how it is addressed in the US is the key factor for the emergence of the most
lethal gang in the world, Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13 (Hagan).
The immediate solution to the violence in the United States was to deport MS-13
gang members to their home countries, but that created immense problems for the
countries that were still recovering from a decade-long civil war, and especially for the
native people (El Salvador: 12 years). When gang members returned to El Salvador,
they left behind their criminal record created in the US so the government had no other
choice, but to let them go. They had not committed a crime in the country yet, but it was
inevitable with the inclination for violence they had learned since they became gang
members at the early age of 9 (The MS-13 Threat). When MS-13 members began their
streak of violence in El Salvador, it was toward their own people who they threatened,
stole from and murdered. Those experiencing the danger in El Salvador, Guatemala and
Honduras turned to the United States for refuge (Long). The current state for the
deportation of illegal immigrants seeking US asylum needs to be changed. Instead of the

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current process of expedited deportation, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
should cease the use of expedited deportation for those seeking asylum from countries
with extreme and frequent gang violence, as well as ensure via training the proper
identification of individuals with credible reasons to grant asylum (Long).
Problem
Mara Salvatruchas origins are rooted in Los Angeles. During the Salvadoran civil
war, this city was a destination for thousands of people looking for refuge in the 1980s
(Johnson). No matter how much safer immigrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, and
Honduras may have felt in the US after leaving the guerrilla warfare, they continued to
experience threats to their lives (El Salvador: 12 years). They moved to poor areas of
Los Angeles that were controlled by gangs like the Mexican Mafia and the 18th Street
gang that did not want to see their territories overtaken. Young teenagers from rival gangs
started beating up Salvadoran kids in the neighborhood. In an effort to protect
themselves, Salvadoran, Guatemalan and Honduran immigrants banded together and
started the beginnings of MS-13 (Johnson).
With the growing notoriety of MS-13, came the large risk factor of getting caught
by the police, or even worse immigration officers. The crime would not end for fear of
getting caught because members have the notion ingrained in them that you either die for
your gang or you get killed by your gang (MS13-Americas Deadliest Gang). Crime
continued and the Los Angeles Police Department kept a close eye on MS-13 territory.
Usually MS-13 members, or maras are arrested for the following: brutal violence, drug
trafficking, robbery, extortion, human smuggling and contract killings (The MS-13
Threat). The United States did not want to maintain legal or monetary responsibility for

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the imprisonment of these individuals so they were deported (Long). Getting back to their
country, they are free since their criminal record from the US does not follow them. But it
does not take long for them to develop one (Johnson). Although the Salvadoran police
force is not as strict because they face the serious danger of daily contact with gang
members, they do arrest and imprison some, which makes the prisons a hot spot for
danger and gang control from the inside. For many, jail is a revolving door and most
travel back up to the United States and spread out to another state with more members,
money and drugs to fuel their local MS-13 group (Harmen). This way in which the Mara
Salvatrucha gang became so widespread continues to be a problem across the US and
around several other countries today.
What was meant to be created out of protection for each other; turned into the first
transnationally organized gang in history (LaFranchi). Generally, the term
transnationalism is described in a positive way by allowing immigrants to live and work
in the US and travel to their country of origin because the expense of travel is so cheap
(Johnson). Essentially, they are at home in two different countries. Except, when
transnationalism is paired with breaking immigration policies, the outcome can be very
negative, which is what is seen in the quick spread of gang members across the country.
Many Salvadorans involved in Mara Salvatrucha will travel back and forth to bring drugs
and other members into the United States (Johnson). Naming the gang a transnational
criminal organization suggests how the group has evolved from being primarily a
criminal element in Central American immigrant communities to a regional organized
crime network delving into a range of illegal markets (LaFranchi).

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The most tragic part about the deportation of Mara Salvatrucha gang members
are the effects it is having on the innocent members of the Central American community.
So many are forced to pay MS-13 money from their monthly earnings to maintain a safe
relationship with the gang, or they may be beaten, raped and killed (Long). In 2015, the
murder rate in El Salvador was 104 per 100,000 inhabitants, which is the highest murder
rate in the world (El Salvador becomes most deadly). Local officials may be complicit
with gangs or otherwise unable or unwilling to provide meaningful protection for
Salvadoran citizens (Long). It is a very small country so the entire population is feeling
the threat to their lives, which is why they turn to the US for safety.
In the past two decades, Unites States officials have become less concerned about
the risks faced by migrants seeking asylum from persecution in their home country.
Unfortunately, between 1996 and 2006 the US government severely underestimated the
importance of accepting asylum seekers into the country by implementing and expanding
the process of expedited removal (Long). Anyone seeking refuge when interacting with
the Border and Patrol officers are supposed to be brought to the US Citizenship and
Immigration asylum officers to determine if they have valid fears. Less than half of those
looking for protection from the government are not even sent to the next step in the
process (Long).
Policy Recommendation
The beginnings of all these problems are rooted in the immigration department in
the United States. The goal should be to keep asylum seekers protected, who are fleeing a
country of violence that is unable to return to a state of basic security. In order for this to
happen, changes need to be made in the process of deporting those looking for U.S.

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protection. The Department of Homeland Security plays a large role in the making the
decisions to deport migrants (Johnson). DHS should cease the use of expedited removal
for individuals and families arriving at the US border with Mexico from countries
experiencing conditions that prevent the countrys nationals from returning to a situation
of basic security (Long). This solution reverts back to the original notion that everyone
deserves to be granted safety from persecution; before the 1996 Illegal Immigration
Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, which enacted the use of expedited removal.
Expedited removal allowed for the immediate deportation of US citizens who had not
been in the States for less than 2 years, not admitted and who had fraudulent documents
or did not have documents at all (Long). With this practice, came the requirement of the
Custom and Border Protection (CBP) officers to conduct interviews with the people with
fear of returning to their country, but according to many deportees they were not
informed of the availability of protection nor were they referred to an asylum officer
(Long).
A second, fairly simple policy recommendation would be to better equip the CBP
officers to understand and handle those truly seeking asylum. There are very few cases
that immigrants lie about the state of their personal security in their home country. The
decision to begin the series of interviews to grant asylum and permission into the United
States comes from the authority of the CBP officers. The Department of Homeland
Security should set in place higher caliber training sessions, more supervision and
maintain accountability of the agents to ensure the CBP can properly identify
individuals who express fear of return so that they are afforded credible or reasonable
fear assessments (Long).

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Justification
There are several benefits that occur if the Department of Homeland Security
ceases the use of expedited deportation and better trains border officers in the process of
granting US asylum. The most obvious is that those suffering in their home country and
experiencing the threat of rape, violence or murder from the deadly street gang of Mara
Salvatrucha are safe (Lovato). They are relieved of their everyday fear that something
will happen to their family and instead have a life of opportunity. Being granted asylum,
the US government has the right to insist they are working and paying their dues to
society, like any other American citizen (Long). As for the United States, the government
consistently has the desire to help foreign countries and preserve the liberty in every
country (Smith). By granting asylum to more immigrants, the government aids a
transnational issue they helped to create in the first place (LaFranchi).
In 2011 and 2012, CBP agents were flagging very few Central Americans as
potential asylum seekers (1.9% of Hondurans, 5.5% of Salvadorans and 0.8% of
Guatemalans) (Long). The rest of those undocumented immigrants will be able to raise a
concern with the safety of their home country when they are transferred to Immigrations
and Customs Enforcement, but ICE does not have the responsibility to ask about the state
of their native countries like the CBP officers do. The small percentage of Central
Americans who do get flagged as asylum seekers go to what is called a credible fear
interview, but the tiny percentage who are found eligible for asylum does not make up for
the large portion of other who go back and risk their lives everyday (Long).
Although this policy would help Central Americans in danger of the gang
violence that has spread from the western coast of the US to the Northern triangle

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countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, it would not put an end to gang
violence (El Salvador becomes most deadly). MS-13 cannot be stopped in the
immediate future, but measures do need to be taken to stop the expansion that is
happening with the gang today (Hagan). Mara Salvatrucha is becoming so organized that
it is a difficult process to begin putting an end to the gang. The gang currently has over
70,00 members in 32 different countries (MS13-Americas Deadliest Gang).
An end to the gang as a whole is not feasible by making small changes to the US
immigration policies, but granting asylum to people severely affected by gang violence is
feasible. During the first 4 months of last year, 51, 565 immigrants were deported to the
Northern triangle countries (El Salvador becomes most deadly). Although a portion of
those deportees was part of Mara Salvatrucha, the majority was in the US for safety and
opportunity. When it comes to non-criminal immigrants, it would be more cost effective
to allow them to enter the process for granted asylum. The cost of arresting, holding
immigrants until their deportation date and sending them to their home country is
exorbitant. With the combination of no longer using immediate deportation and the
improved training of CBP officers to deal with asylum seekers, it is possible to grant
refuge to more immigrants (Long). There is major contention with this policy from a
conservative perspective. First of all, this is an immigration issue that has been a battle
between conservatives and liberals for years in this country. The more specific problem
with this is that asylum policies for immigrants can pose a threat to Americans
(Spakovsky).
If the Department of Homeland Security decided to enact this policy into its
immigration approach, involving transnational gangs, it would help thousands of innocent

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Salvadoran, Guatemalan and Honduran families. Stopping the use of expedited
deportation for credible asylum seekers and training those responsible for the decision to
grant asylum would be very beneficial. Although at the moment, the US government
cannot do everything to stop the issue at the source, which is the MS-13 gang itself, it can
help those who are asking for it. The immigrant Central Americans would be given the
opportunity to have a safe life, as well as a prosperous one.
Words: 2076

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Works Cited
El Salvador becomes world's most deadly country outside a war zone. The Telegraph.
Telegraph Media Group, 5 Jan. 2016. Web 6 Apr. 2016.
El Salvador: 12 Years of Civil War. The Center for Justice & Accountability. The
Center for Justice & Accountability, N.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.
Hagan, Geo. 10 Most Lethal Gangs in America. The Richest. N.p., 17 June 2014. Web.
6 Apr. 2016.
Harmen, Danna. For Salvadoran gangs, jail is a revolving door. The Christian Science
Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 1 Mar. 2005. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.
Johnson, Mary H. National Policies and the Rise of Transnational Gangs. Migration
Policy Institute. Migration Policy Institute, 1 Apr. 2006. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.
LaFranchi, Howard. MS-13 gang labeled transnational criminal group, a first for US
street gang. The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 12
Oct. 2012. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.
Long, Clara. You Dont Have Rights Here. Human Rights Watch. Human Rights
Watch, 16 Oct. 2014. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.
Lovato, Roberto. Deported to death: The tragic journey of a Salvadoran immigrant. Al
Jazeera America. Al Jazeera America, 11 July 2015. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.
MS13-Americas Deadliest Gang. YouTube. National Geographic, 2 Mar. 2013. Web.
13 Apr. 2016.

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Smith, Marion. What is Americas Role in the World? The Heritage Foundation. The
Heritage Foundation, 16 Nov. 2010. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.
Spakovsky, Hans. Americas Sanctuary City Nightmare. The Heritage Foundation. The
Heritage Foundation, 24 Aug. 2015. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.
The MS-13 Threat. The Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI, 14 Jan. 2008. Web.
6 Apr. 2016.